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If the Conservative government – led by Harper in Question Period no less – has now decided they’re going to try to blame the Liberals for the current mess in Veteran Affairs (led by their mess of a minister Fantino), polling and reaction to their current shabby treatment of Veterans must be pretty bad.

Their argument gets a tad undercut however when they’ve had 10 years to fix any shortcomings (which Harper and party supported in 2005 and enthusiastically implemented in 2006), and are now in court trying to defend it against angry Veterans (and trying to use the argument the “moral obligation” to help returning vets was just political […]

Is Julian Fantino (Minister of Veteran Affairs) the worst Cabinet Minister in the Harper Conservative government right now? That’s saying something in this government, but some folks are now openly asking if he should be replaced. His department faced a withering Auditor-General report on the inefficiencies of the Department is getting aid and help to Veterans, but he was conveniently out of the country so he didn’t have to face the music.

The answer is yes, though I’m not exactly sure anyone who would replace Fantino would do much better. As always with the Harper government, unless public opinion polls (or private ones) show that their disregard for Veterans is […]

There was an editorial in the Globe and Mail yesterday, saying basically while it was overdue, Bev Oda deciding to leave as a Minister was a sign that Harper holds his Ministers accountable for their actions. That raised a few eyebrows; my friend Impolitical listed several ministers whose ministerial indiscretions are as bad as Oda’s are, and yet nothing has been done about them – and won’t be done about them, if the PMO’s claims that this is it for Cabinet shuffling this summer is true.

We now find out that Julian Fantino is the person who has been slated to replace Oda – he who couldn’t or wouldn’t explain […]

Welcome to 2011, and welcome back to reading this humble blog here. I had a good Christmas, but the rest of my holiday time up to the past couple of days was a bit of a bust, being sick with flu or cold, or both. Of course, it’s cleared up in time for me to get back to work, so I suppose economic productivity will be up.

As for New Year Resolutions, I only have two. My first is to resolve to remain kind to others – particularly those less fortunate then I – and do something to be able to help them out, even in a small way. The […]

Not to worry though; he’s been very busy practising his scripted lines the Prime Minister’s Office have made for him. I wonder how he – as someone who has been one not afraid to speak his mind whether you agreed with him or not – can manage to stomach that. I guess if you want political power, you can tolerate playing hide and go seek with the voters.

Hopefully, enough Vaughan voters turn out who reject this democracy shortcut Fantino and the Conservatives under Harper and his strategists are attempting (and turnout/GOTV operations are always very key […]

What might be the Dianne Haskett strategy, you ask? Well, it involves the Conservative Party and its election strategists keeping a potentially controversial candidate away from the press and attending a minimal amount of public debates, so as to try and prevent them from saying something in public that will seriously hinder their election chances in a riding that might not appreciate their right-wing candour.

That strategy was most famously used in an attempt to get Dianne Haskett elected in London in a 2006 bye-election (vacated by then-Liberal MP Joe Fontana):

Haskett, a former two-term London mayor, has not granted an interview to national media since entering the race late […]